Cold War, Religion and religious fundamentalism

Abstract

Abstrac During the Cold War (between the United States - USA and the Soviet Union - USSR, between 1947 and 1991), the religious influence of the USA in Brazil and other Latin American countries was evident, with investments in actions of missionaries and fundamentalist religious entities that supported the political and diplomatic agendas of the USA. The dispute among Brazilian Protestant religious leaders regarding affiliation to the World Council of Churches - WCC in 1964 reflected the clash between anti-ecumenism and ecumenism, as well as anti-communism and communism. While some advocated for non-affiliation, citing socialist and communist inclinations of the WCC, others argued in favor of the existence of space for different political and economic systems within the Christian community. This article highlights the need to study the relationship between religion and the Cold War to better understand the political and social dynamics of that period and the importance of the religious fundamentalist presence and how it constituted and developed as an important thought in this context.   Keywords: Cold War; Religion; Religious fundamentalism; Catholicism and Protestantism.